Jiang Bomu was cutting tofu.
Gu Yu was eating grapes.
At first glance, all was calm. In truth, undercurrents were surging wildly.
Of course, the surging undercurrents existed solely within Gu Yu. Every time she ate a grape, she recalled the earlier scene—the soft lips taking the grape from her fingertip. It was just a fleeting moment, yet the flutter in her heart seemed to last ten thousand years.
Just one day of cohabitation, and she had already closely touched Jiang Bomu’s hand and lips, each heartbeat more intense than the last, silent yet deafening.
The thoughts in Gu Yu’s mind grew increasingly absurd. She exhaled a turbid breath and stopped eating.
While making the mapo tofu, Jiang Bomu still spoke softly to explain key points, apparently not considering the grape-eating incident anything significant.
But then again, when that happened, Jiang Bomu’s hands were greasy. Washing hands again would have been troublesome, so it was easier just to eat it directly from her hand.
Moreover, Gu Yu had already offered the grape. Making a huge fuss to wash hands and then accept it would have been awkward for her. The other party was clearly being considerate of her feelings.
No matter what reason Jiang Bomu had for eating that grape, it was perfectly normal. What was the big deal?
It was only her, someone with “impure motives,” who would overthink everything. Gu Yu forced herself to stop dwelling on it and listened to Jiang Bomu half-heartedly. Yet her gaze always strayed from the fragrantly steaming pan to Jiang Bomu’s face.
The heat from the stove blurred her features slightly, softening some of the coolness. She looked gentle as water.
She seemed not to like makeup much, staying bare-faced all day. Compared to her appearance on-screen or at events, Gu Yu much preferred her natural, unadorned look.
Transforming from an unreachable, gorgeous sunset glow into brilliant, earthly fireworks.
Earthly fireworks exclusively for her.
Gu Yu couldn’t help but blurt: “Sister, you’re so beautiful.”
Jiang Bomu had heard this phrase all her life and was long used to it. She simply nodded lightly and said, “Thank you. You are too.”
Gu Yu blinked and asked playfully, “Then where am I good-looking?”
Caught off guard, Jiang Bomu turned her face and leaned slightly closer to her, as if to observe more carefully.
A magnified, several-times-larger image of top-tier divine beauty appeared before her. Gu Yu’s breath hitched, and she stared blankly at her.
How could any person be this beautiful?
However, she keenly noticed a faint bluish tint beneath Jiang Bomu’s eyes and couldn’t help wondering, Did she not sleep well last night?
But even the bluish tint only added a touch of frail beauty, taking nothing away from her looks. A cool, frail beauty was still pitiable and captivating.
These random thoughts flashed through her mind momentarily, followed by a feeling of chagrin.
When she’d looked in the mirror this morning, she’d noticed a small pimple on her left cheek. But she was in a hurry to come out, so she’d ignored it. If she’d known, she would have put on makeup!
“Your eyes are the prettiest—big, round almond eyes,” Jiang Bomu observed for a moment, then said gently, “Your eyes are exactly like Grandma Qiao’s. That’s why every time I see you, I think of her.”
Gu Yu blinked slowly. She had never really noticed any resemblance between herself and her grandmother. Hearing Jiang Bomu mention it instantly made her feel it was true.
The two dishes, one soup, and rice were served. Gu Yu took a picture and sent it separately to her parents and her grandmother. Her parents didn’t reply—they must still be on the plane. Her grandmother instantly responded with a voice message: 【So abundant. Little Mu made it, right?】
Little Mu. Called so affectionately.
Gu Yu’s lips curved into a smile. Thinking it had been a while since she’d seen her grandmother, she decided to initiate a video call.
Grandma picked up instantly and asked with a laugh, “Xunxun, finally remembered your grandma?”
Gu Yu naturally launched into a coquettish tone: “What do you mean ‘finally’? Xunxun misses… you all the time.”
The last two words stuck in her throat, coming out abruptly and awkwardly. Because Jiang Bomu’s face had appeared in the upper right corner of her phone screen—shoulder to shoulder, intimately nestled together.
She didn’t dare move, keeping her back rigid, maintaining her smile, listening to her own heartbeat.
It was nearly deafening.
She glanced sidelong at Jiang Bomu, her act painfully obvious, always wondering if the other could hear it.
“Little Mu,” Grandma Qiao said kindly, “it’s been a while. How have you been lately?”
Jiang Bomu replied with a light smile, “Very well. And your health?”
Gu Yu keenly noticed that although it was a light smile, it seemed more genuinely joyful than any other time. Her grandmother also looked kindly. The two were like a real grandmother and granddaughter.
Gu Yu didn’t feel jealous. Instead, she was especially happy, listening to their conversation with keen interest.
Unexpectedly, the topic shifted, and Grandma mentioned her. With a worried expression, she asked, “Xunxun hasn’t caused you any trouble, has she? She’s been mischievous since she was little…”
Gu Yu couldn’t stay seated anymore and protested coquettishly, “Grandma!”
Not only was she not praising her, but she was even calling her mischievous! She had been very well-behaved when she was little!
Jiang Bomu pursed her lips in a smile and replied gently, “No, not at all. I treat Xunxun as my own little sister. Even if she causes trouble, she has me as her older sister to shield her.”
Hearing Jiang Bomu affectionately call her “Xunxun,” Gu Yu’s heart melted into a wisp of breeze, drifting toward a lavender field. The next second, the entire lavender field turned to ashes.
My own little sister.
These three words stabbed at Gu Yu’s heart. She absolutely did not want to be any kind of sister with Jiang Bomu!
After what felt like an eternity, Gu Yu numbly ended the video call. She picked up her chopsticks to eat, but the food tasted like wax. She just mechanically repeated the motions.
Seeing her only eating the minced pork eggplant, Jiang Bomu said, “The mapo tofu is also good. Give it a try.”
Gu Yu nodded and ate a piece of mapo tofu, commenting, “Delicious.”
But her taste buds had temporarily shut down. She didn’t actually taste anything.
Her mind was full of just one thought: she couldn’t keep calling her “Sister” anymore. If she kept it up, she’d really become a biological sister.
Pulling herself together, Gu Yu started eating seriously. Halfway through the meal, she said, as if casually, “Sister…”
She almost bit her tongue. Just decided not to call her ‘Sister’, why did she say it again? A bad start!
Jiang Bomu looked up at her. Gu Yu suppressed her chagrin, smiled brightly, and said, “People close to me all call me by my nickname. From now on, you can call me Xunxun too?”
“Alright,” she nodded slowly. “This name is very nice. Xunxun, Gu Xunxun… it wouldn’t be bad as a proper name either.”
Gu Yu rolled her eyes slightly and seized the chance to ask, “Then do you have a nickname?”
The smile on Jiang Bomu’s lips slowly cooled. It was a moment before she uttered two words: “No.”
Gu Yu panicked a bit. Had she said something wrong?
Jiang Bomu paused, also realizing she’d been too cold. Calming herself, she forced a trace of a smile: “Don’t overthink it. It’s my own issue, nothing to do with you.”
She put down her chopsticks and stood up, saying evenly, “I’m done eating. You can just leave everything on the table after you finish. I’ll clean up later.”
With that, she went straight to the master bedroom. The door closed softly, separating them into two different worlds.
Gu Yu froze. It took a long while to regain her senses. She had no appetite left either. She simply tidied the table and kitchen before returning to her room.
Sitting on the bed, she thought it over and decided to send Jiang Bomu a message. Her fingers quickly typed out a line on the keyboard: Sister, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.
After a pause, she deleted it all.
She’d already said it wasn’t her fault. Adding this sentence would just prove she was still dwelling on it.
After more thought, she began typing again: Sister, do you have some sad past?
Still no. They’d only known each other for a day. It wasn’t likely she’d open up so easily. And if it truly was a sad memory, wouldn’t bringing it up make her even sadder?
Gu Yu deleted it once more. Biting her lip, she decided to drop the matter entirely and quickly typed out a new line. She hit send before giving herself a chance to reconsider.
【I’ve finished tidying up. Sister, no need to come out.】
Jiang Bomu replied quickly: 【Okay.】
Gu Yu mulled over this single word, somewhat unable to gauge her actual mood. Cold? Calm? Perfunctory?
Just as she was pondering, the “sunset” in the chat window changed to “Typing…”. She abruptly sat up straight, staring at the phone screen with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
【My behavior earlier was out of line. Please don’t take it to heart.】
That’s it? Gu Yu deflated a little. Seeing she had no intention of explaining further, she replied with a cute sticker of “Got it.”
After waiting a while with no further reply from Jiang Bomu, Gu Yu put down her phone and began to think about why she reacted so strongly to the matter of names.
Bomu, meaning dusk, always made her think of the sunset clouds under the afterglow—gorgeous like brocade, rays of light stretching endlessly.
“Bomu… Jiang Bomu…”
She murmured it twice, then a thought struck like a lightning bolt: Was it because of the derogatory name given by anti-fans?
Bomu sounded like “Bomu” (aunty, aunty). So anti-fans never called her Jiang Bomu properly, but instead called her Auntie Jiang, which even spawned related slurs like Auntie Jiang, Old Aunt Jiang, and such.
Clearly, this name was beautiful.
Gu Yu’s expression turned complex. A dense, prickling ache spread through her heart.
On the surface, Jiang Bomu acted indifferent, paying no mind. Even when someone called her “Auntie Jiang” right to her face at the airport, she simply dismissed it with a smile. But… deep down, it still hurt, right?
Gu Yu regretted bringing it up even more. After mulling it over, she decided to gift her a bouquet of flowers.
She had arrived in a hurry without preparing a gift. Giving a bouquet of flowers seemed like a small token of her feelings.
But it was the sunniest part of the day, and she didn’t want to go out. So she found a well-reviewed flower shop online. After coordinating details with the shop owner, she placed an order for a bouquet.
The owner asked if she needed it delivered. Gu Yu checked the distance; it wasn’t too far. She decided to pick it up personally and stop by the supermarket on the way.
Jiang Bomu was a disciplined female star. Her fridge contained only vegetables and meat; not even a bottle of soft drinks, let alone junk food.
Gu Yu couldn’t tolerate a life without snacks. Even if she didn’t want to eat them, just having them around was pleasing to the eye.
After arranging a pickup time with the shop owner, Gu Yu felt a bit sleepy and decided to take a nap. When she woke, it was only four. She applied some light makeup and prepared to head out.
Just as she reached the living room, there was sound from the master bedroom as well. Gu Yu looked over in surprise.
Jiang Bomu was also a bit taken aback. She glanced at Gu Yu from head to toe and asked, “Going out?”
Gu Yu nodded and smiled. “Planning a trip to the supermarket. Sister, want to join?”
Gu Yu politely invited, but inwardly she knew the other wouldn’t go. She was, after all, a hot star right now. A supermarket had too much foot traffic; it was too conspicuous.
Thus, she could secretly buy snacks and flowers, then surprise her unexpectedly.
Just as she was mentally applauding her own brilliant plan, she heard Jiang Bomu answer: “Sure.”
Without thinking, Gu Yu immediately continued: “Then I’ll go by myself… Huh?”
She looked up in shock and asked, confused, “What did you just say?”
Jiang Bomu laughed, then repeated gently.
“Sure.”
